Halloween

Halloween is a horror-slasher film that you're likely to enjoy about as much as you may have enjoyed the original films that were big in the 70s and 80s. 

Given that I'm not totally familiar with those films (or this series in general), I wasn't surprised that Halloween was merely "enjoyable" for me and not something as epic and technically well made as last year's It. 

There's still a lot to be enjoyed here and it is a breezy 106 minute ride, but it comes burdened - for better or worse - with a lot of the dumb, sometimes hilarious, tropes that accompany this genre. 

I also, maybe personally, find it an interesting case study for an example of Hollywood not so much "running out of ideas" as they are trying to tap into nostalgia these days. In order to make this version of Halloween, they effectively rewrote (and undid) all of the sequels that came before it. Narratively I'm sure that it works better that way, but it's almost a dangerous precedent - that has been done before - to scrap entire reboots/sequels in favor of what might be perceived to be a better one. I'm a big fan of tentpoles/series/sequels, but there comes a point where originality must continue to be at the forefront of Hollywood movie making, in every genre. 

Mild rant aside, I found Halloween to be a quick, brutal, often funny time at the theaters that didn't stick with me all that much after the fact. Unlike last week's phenomenal First Man (which you should see because it's bombing and deserves to do better), there's not much to reflect on with Halloween. Yes, they're two very different films. I get that. But I've also left theaters much more...how the kids say..."shook" than what I did here. 

The most significant reason for that is an odd balance between realism and fantasy that many horror films must tackle, not just Halloween. Michael Myers is demonic, and if he's not then he's basically an immortal elf or something. I've always found it difficult in these films to accept that someone is merely an "evil human" and there's no explanation for the seemingly supernatural powers they posses. That's part of the fun, I know, but I also feel like it's what takes some of the real tension of key scenes in the film. When Myers has the ability to [apparently] teleport, become invisible, survive bullets to the jugular, and survive a car ramming all within the span of an hour it's less about who may or may not survive and instead curiosity of how they're going to die. 

"No scope 360 quick kill. You're garb kid" - Jamie Lee Curtis here...probably

"Do you think she can see me?
I'll stand very still..."

In that regard, Halloween is quite a brutal film when it comes to its deaths. Many happen off screen and we're introduced to the grisly aftermath at a later point. For the ones that happen on screen, in the moment, they range from typical slasher to "woah, that's gross!". Where my previous paragraph of review explains how the film loses some tension, its the intensity of some of these deaths that brings that tension right back in. There's also a lot to love with the story here as it comes with minimal baggage and basically you just need to know there was a first film. The decision to ignore all sequels was the right move (despite what ripples that can have in the industry) and it sets-up a VERY straight forward plot: Michael Myers has escaped prison and wants to kill Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, reprising her role). In order to get to her, he goes on a rampage and she's been waiting for him for over 40 years, living a life of preparation and paranoia. It's a wonderfully simply plot that builds up to a "showdown" and is likely the reason the film seems to fly by. 

We're introduced along the way to a group of teenagers, whom you can mainly ignore, that are there just as punching bags for Myers. One of them happens to be Laurie's granddaughter and the family drama throughout between grandma, mom, and granddaughter is an interesting look at the long-term effects of a horror killer. There are a handful of useless subplots that don't add much and seemed unnecessary - an entire aspect of Michael's doctor wanting to "understand the killer" being one of them, but ultimately this is about Laurie vs. Michael and the film is better when it's focused on their path toward facing each other. The film is also a delight when it's being [intentionally] funny, which is more than I would have initially guessed. There's some strong humor throughout with a particular babysat child being downright hilarious and easily stealing the scene he's in. 

Halloween may not have the technical prowess that It had last year either, but that's ok because it gets by on competent filmmaking regardless. There aren't images or edits here that will impress avid movie-lovers, but there's also nothing that's downright bad to be mentioned either. I was really impressed with the original score however. It relies and pulls heavily on synthesizer beats and the original's piano tune, but those are great and the rest of the "filler" music is impressive too. It goes a long way to achieving the atmosphere they wanted to create. 

"HFS this haunted house is intense! I thought they said no touching!"

While I may not be singing Halloween's praises as loud as some other critics -- whom I'm quite frankly surprised they liked it that much -- it's still a fun, somewhat scary trip to the theaters that is sure to make a killing with Halloween (the date) right around the corner. If you're fine with all of the tropes that come with slasher films like this, you'll have a blast, and for the rest of us, we'll still have fun with a few added laughs where they perhaps weren't intended.

CONS

• Per usual with slasher flicks, most of the characters in them are dumb
• It was the right move, but erasing all sequels is not something I want Hollywood to start the practice of
• Hosts many of the typical slasher tropes
• Mildly forgettable

PROS

• Hosts many of the typical slasher tropes
• Its intentional humor is spot on
• Jamie Lee Curtis does a great job reprising her role 
• Brutal deaths
• Simple plot that sets up a "showdown" and makes the movie fly by
• Fun, sometimes intense, sometimes scary, but consistently entertaining

Rath's Review Score | 7/10